Have the article read by OpenAI (Beta). Please note that AI translations may take some time to process.Luxembourg (dpa) – War refugees from Ukraine will be able to remain in the European Union until at least March 2026, as per emergency rules extended by EU justice and home affairs ministers on Thursday.
Ukrainians who fled to the European Union after the full-scale invasion of their country by Russia in February 2022 were granted immediate protection after EU member states set up a temporary regime designed for cases of mass influxes of people.
The proposal is designed to avoid the lengthy national asylum-seeking procedures required to process large numbers of displaced people. In addition, people under temporary protection are entitled to social benefits, housing, access to education and work permits, among other things. Extensions of the temporary rules are possible for up to one year.
The existing regime was set to end in March 2025. The European Commission proposed to extend the emergency rules on Tuesday, arguing that “safe and durable conditions for the return of people to Ukraine are not currently in place” due to continued Russian attacks on both civil and critical infrastructure.
The Commission reported that almost 4.2 million Ukrainians are currently residing in the EU under these rules, with Germany hosting the most people at 1.2 million. However, the number of Ukrainian refugees in relation to the population is significantly higher in countries such as the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Poland. (14 June)
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